Northern Ireland milk production up 3.1% as milk price falls 31.6%

Milk production in Northern Ireland in August 2015 was 180.15m litres, up 3.1% year-on-year, statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) show.

While milk production is up in the North on the year, the average farmgate milk price is down 31.6% year-on-year.

According to the Department , in August 2015, the Northern Ireland average farmgate price of milk (including
retrospective bonuses) was 18.65p/L (25.15c/L), 8.64p/L (11.65c/L) lower than the farmgate price of milk in August 2014.

The weighted average farm gate price of milk during January to December 2014 was 29.30p/L (39.51c/L), 2.04p/L (2.75c/L) lower than the same period in 2013.

In the period from January to December 2014 the Northern Department’s figures show that the volume of raw milk produced was 2203.27m litres, 9.4% higher than January to December 2013.

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North’s dairy aid package worth €1,920 to each dairy farmer

The average dairy farmer in Northern Ireland is set to receive an average of €1,920 from the North’s £5.1m dairy aid package.

Meanwhile, dairy farmers south of the border will be sharing a fund of €13.7m – or €720 per dairy farmer, according to the IFA.

It was announced today by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in the UK that dairy farmers in the North will receive £5.1m of the UK’s allocation of £26.2m.

The decision to allocate nearly 20% of the Member State’s aid package to the North comes after the North’s agricultural minister Michelle O’Neill highlighted, both in London and in Brussels, the unique and difficult circumstances facing the industry there.

The money will be paid out to dairy farmers across the North, the Department said.